Sardarji singing Tamil film songs at Nana Nani

 He came. He sang. He conquered the hearts of residents of Phase 4 of Nana Nani. ( after conquering Phases 2 and 3). it was a packed audience to listen to a Sardarji belting out Tamil film songs. Though he and his partner Mohan Ganesh sang more Hindi film songs than Tamil, Gurdip Singh, the hero of the evening, bowled the audience by his rendition of a song by the poet Bharathi without the aid of Karaoke. I had goosebumps listening to his melodious voice singing the poem from memory. For a guy who learned to read Tamil by reading the sign boards in Coimbatore where he did his schooling and college, it was a remarkable feat indeed! A social singer who went public post-pandemic Gurdip has come a long way as a singer in the last three years. Hats off to you Gurdip.

As I mentioned in my vote of thanks, I have known Gurdip for nearly 40 years as an active member of the Round Table India and later 41 Club of India, and have heard him sing film songs at fellowship get-togethers. I never imagined that one day he would become a celebrity singer delighting his audiences. Mohan Ganesh, an ex-tabler, also impressed the audience with his lovely voice. I wish the team all the best.

The programme ended with Air Vice Marshall (Retd.) Natarajan, a nonagenarian resident at Phase 4, honouring the artists with ponnadais ( Shawls). It was heartening to learn that the duo has donated the honorarium received for the programme from the management of Nana Nani, which had arranged the programme, to Cheshire Home, a non-profit and Charitable Organization providing shelter for the Mentally ill and Physically challenged adults.

 

 

Social media - some tips about its use

 In addition to Email, the variety of social media that I use for reaching my writings to potential readers include WhatsApp, Blog, and Facebook. I am not into Twitter, Instagram, or Linked In which is considered ideal for people who are looking for business connections. I have learned a few lessons which I will share with you.

 The other day I got a well-written article on an interesting topic sent to me by a friend. Since it was not a forward I assumed that he had written the article. I congratulated him on an excellent piece of writing and suggested that he should continue to write and share with friends. Prompt came his response that he had forwarded the article as received and did not bother to check if it had the name of the writer. This is the reason why I always add my name below the title of all my articles to make it clear that it is an original article written by me and not a forward.

 Every article I write is posted on my blog, on my Facebook page, and later shared with pre-identified groups of friends through email and WhatsApp. I have found that my Blog is an archive of all the articles I have written so far, accessible to me, anytime, anywhere. It is also seen and read by many active bloggers whom I don`t know. On average, I post about two articles every month. I find that my blog over the last 12 years has more than 1,20,000 page views. I recommend that every writer must have a blog in which they post all their creative writings.

 Facebook has helped me connect with many long-lost friends who are active on FB. Besides, If I tag the post with selected friends on FB, I find that they can share the same with their friends if they find the article interesting. This helps in getting my articles exposed to more readers. While seeing the number of `likes` that I get is encouraging, I also know that some friends press the `like` button even without reading the post. It is the number of comments that I get that makes me more happy.

 I don`t use bulk mail service as I prefer to send articles to select groups depending on the subject of the article. This is a painful process as Gmail allows me to forward only 30 addresses at a time and not more than 500 per day. It used to take me a long time to complete the process. From a mailing list of 1500 email IDs, I have reduced it to 700 by deleting the names of those who did not respond to my mail asking them to confirm their interest in receiving my emails. I find the popularity of email is going down judging by the decreasing no of responses I get for my articles sent through mail.

 I find that most people have switched over to WhatsApp for instant communication. I also find that it allows me to target individuals as well as groups within minutes. Since I am constantly looking at messages on WhatsApp I can see the responses also immediately.

 For any creative person feedback from his fans is what keeps him/her going as an artist. My readers` responses to my articles, on different social media that I use, are what keeps me going as a writer post-retirement. So friends, if you find my articles interesting please communicate your comments to me (both bouquets and brickbats are welcome) and also share it with your friends who may be interested in the subject of the articles.

Hari Om Mama- a Karma Yogi in action!

`He has no time to stand and stare` was the headline of an article on Ayyasamy Hariharan which appeared in a leading daily in September 2008.  He was 77 then. The description fits him even now when he is 93.

 He was popularly known as Thiruppugazh mama during his stay in Delhi and now in Coimbatore, he is more popular as Hari Om Mama. This ever-generous and helpful man can be seen not only helping those in need but also very actively organizing cultural events to encourage talented young musicians and dancers in Coimbatore where he has settled since 1991. He is a popular figure in Nana Nani, Phase 4, where he has been staying for the last seven years. The nine-day Festival of Music and Dance that he organized during the Ram Navami celebrations this year at  Phase 4,  kept the audience spellbound by the variety and quality of the programmes.  Seeing him constantly on the move trying to ensure that the programmes were conducted without any hitch was a sight to behold.

Born in Tiruvarur, Mama was the eldest among four siblings.  His father was working in the Pay and Accounts department of the Government of India where during World War-II he was posted in Visakhapatnam and later in  Calcutta and Delhi.

Mama says, "I have had the experience of staying in refugee colonies in Calcutta during the pre-partition days and in Delhi during post-partition days. I know what it means to stand in a queue with a plate to get my food and live without the necessities of life that we take for granted today." The seeds of his nature to help others in need were probably sown at this time.

Hari Om Mama had his early education in Trichy, where he completed his SSC at the prestigious  ER High School. He did his intermediate in a college in Karaikudi and got an Economics Hons degree from Punjab University as his father was by then transferred to Delhi.

Mama recalled his brief foray into business immediately after he completed his Intermediate course in Karaikudi. Joining hands with another friend he started a business to buy and store items like Jaggery, Umbrellas, etc at a price and sell the same at a higher price taking advantage of the shortage situation during the war. Unfortunately, the end of the war saw his business collapsing. His brief attempt to lease out a cinema hall also failed. End of Mama`s attempts at becoming an entrepreneur even as a student.

After college Mama joined the Ministry of Finance in Delhi and rose to become the Assistant Development Commissioner by the time he retired in 1990. His long stay in Delhi saw him get deeply involved in many cultural and spiritual activities.

Right from his college days, mama had the reputation of being a good organizer of cultural programmes, though his knowledge of music is limited. Mama is proud of the fact that his wife of 65 years, Sundari, more than makes up for his poor knowledge of music. She is a pillar of strength to him in all his activities.

Mama became one of the founder members of Delhi Bhajana Samaj organizing bhajans, and spiritual classes. He also started promoting Tiruppugazh with the help of scholars who could conduct classes on the subject under the auspices of Thiruppugazh Nanbargal.  His abiding interest in the subject earned him the title `Thiruppugazh mama`.

 He was also active in Delhi Tamil Sangam which apart from organizing lectures by visiting dignitaries was also running a library. Mama fondly remembers his close association with M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, former speaker of Loksabha, who was the President of the Tamil Sangam.

Mama`s tryst with Chinmaya mission started during his Delhi days when Chinmayananda had not yet become the famous personality he became.

Mama says, ‘ When Chinmayananda was visiting Delhi to start a branch of the mission, he wanted to organize a meeting to get people to attend his lecture. Someone had told him about how I could help him get his audience because of my involvement with many institutions. When I clarified that I go around on my bicycle to meet people, he volunteered to accompany me on a cycle. The meeting was a success and later I was also involved in organizing the first Yagna of Chinmaya Mission in Delhi. Since then I have been actively associated with the mission which continues even in Coimbatore. As I always greet people invoking the words  `Hari Om`, the people started calling me `Hari Om Mama`

A life-threatening accident to his wife and the consequent trauma that the family faced in Delhi made him shift to Coimbatore in 1991 with the blessings of Swami Chinmayananda. An irrepressible man that he is, Mama got involved in several cultural activities of Coimbatore. He also started the Coimbatore branch of the Tamil Nadu Brahmins Association.

He continued his interest in Thiruppugazh by organizing classes conducted by Mrs Lalitha Nagarajan, a well-known scholar in the subject. While he was conducting classes on Thiruppugazh and other subjects in different venues he decided to acquire a property in Vadavalli close to his home where the classes could be conducted in one place.

He started  Sadhna Sadhan in 2003 to conduct classes on yoga, meditation, and other spiritual pursuits. Classes were conducted by experts on Thiruppugazh, Bhagwat Geetha, Narayaneeyam, Devaram, Sundarakandam, and Divya Prabhandam on different days of the week. Sunday was the Chinmaya Balavihar day reserved for children when they were told moral stories and taught to communicate.

The Sadhan which has a beautiful garden of flowers in front also has an acupressure walkway, laid with different-sized pebbles picked from river beds in Mettupalayam. Mama says, “ This fitness walk is an enjoyable exercise for those who cannot run, or jog and are looking for an alternative to normal walking. A walk on the acupressure walkway activates all nerve centers - all the cells from the foot to the brain are activated. You not only feel rejuvenated but you also get relief from neck and calf muscle pain besides other hidden benefits”

During the pandemic, the classes went online. Unfortunately, after the pandemic, students did not patronize the physical classes as they found it convenient to attend the classes online, saving them considerable commute time. Mama is planning to donate the property worth over Rs 1 crore to Chinmaya Mission.

Mama won an award from Tamil Nadu Brahmins Sangam in 2011 for his selfless service to the spiritual and cultural aspects of the society. He is also proud that the garden in Sadhana Sadhan won a prize at the Kovai Flower Show 2005.

He continues to attend important cultural events in Coimbatore besides taking an interest in the cultural activities in Nana Nani.  It is interesting to note that while the management of Nana Nani provides the air-conditioned Meditation Hall with all facilities free,  Mama bears the entire cost of the events including the honorariums to be paid to the artists. A man truly committed to a cause indeed!

Mama is blessed with two daughters and two grand children . One daughter lives in USA and the second daughter in New Delhi.

Sethuraman, a resident of Nana Nani Phase 4 who has known Mama for the last seven years says, ”Hari Om Mama is a role model for me in Nana Nani,in many ways. He is a true Karma Yogi, a nonagenarian with an active mind and body. `Yadh bhaavam, thath bhavathi`( As you think, you become) says our scriptures. Hari Om Mama is a living example of this dictum”. May he be blessed by Almighty with aarogyam, santhosham and santhushti.”

I also pray God that Hari Om Mama hits a century in the service of the society!

       ( This is hopefully  the first of a series from me about interesting people in Nana Nani)

 

Facilities in Phase 4 of Nana Nani

Nana Nani, Phase 4  where I am staying now is located in Kasturipalayam in Vadavalli. It is about 30 minutes drive from CBE station and 60 minutes from the airport. The complex has six blocks with  250  two  BHK apartments in four floors and 51 Villas. The complex accommodates about 450 residents. I stay in G block.

As you enter the main gate you see a big temple for Mahalaxmi on the left, opposite the security office. It also has the idols of Vinayaka, Bala Murugan,  located inside the temple complex. This temple is where most of the religious events take place. It is also a place where spiritual pursuits like Veda classes, bhajans, and special pujas are conducted every other day.

Next to the temple is Brindavanam, a small garden featuring marble statues of  Krishna, Radha, and Gopikas. There is one more garden with a fountain in front of the main clubhouse and a Buddha statue under a Bodhi tree next to my block.  From the Mahalaxmi temple, a long walkway  takes you to the Villas located immediately after the apartment complex. This is the passage,  dotted with trees on the right where I go for a walk. Many residents walk around the complex using this walkway. It is safe for residents to walk even at night after dinner.

 There are two Club Houses. The main one is where most of the facilities are located within the apartment complex. The second, smaller clubhouse is where the residents of the Villas have their meals.  A mini swimming pool and a badminton court are located next to this club house.

The main  Club House has a dining hall on the ground floor that has a seating capacity of  120. Residents are expected to leave behind their footwear in the footwear racks provided outside before entering the Club House to attend any activity. Meals are provided in two batches. Breakfast at 8.00 am and 8.30 am. Lunch at 12.30 pm and 1.00 pm. Dinner at 7.30 pm and 8.00 pm. Those who want their meals to be delivered at their apartments or villas are charged extra for the service. Electrically operated buggies are available for residents who find it difficult to walk the distance from their blocks to the dining hall.

A well-appointed Gym,  a hall for indoor games like table tennis and billiards,  including the traditional pallanguzhi,  carrom boards, chess boards, a couple of cards tables, an Ayurvedic clinic and spa, library, a separate saloon for ladies and gents which operate on fixed days during fixed times- -All these are located on the first floor.

The second floor is where the fully air-conditioned Meditation Hall is located with a seating capacity of 300. It has a big stage where all the programmes are conducted. The Hall has an audio system, a lighting system, and a built-in Projector for any a/v presentations.  This is the hall where, so far, I have attended performances like a Women`s Day celebration, an Anthakshri, and a karaoke session- all staged by the talented residents. This hall also witnessed the big puja conducted on Sivarathri day and a Music and Dance festival for nine days during the Ram Navami  organized by one of the senior residents at his cost.

The third floor houses the state-of-the-art mini air-conditioned cinema hall with a capacity of 90.  Every Saturday evening a Hindi, Tamil, or Malayalam film is shown.  The third floor also houses six air-conditioned guest houses with three-star comforts that can be used by the guests of the residents. Charges at present are Rs. 4000/- per night including three meals for a couple, with 24 hrs check-in facility. It is a good facility but  without room service.

A clinic with a pharmacy attached is located opposite the G block where I stay. Qualified nurses are available round the clock. Apart from a senior doctor who visits the clinic at fixed times every day, there is a resident doctor available full-time.  There is a system of weekly check-ups of all the residents for general health parameters which is recorded in a book and retained by the resident. In an emergency,  at the press of a specially marked switch located in the bathroom and bedrooms, a nursing staff rushes to the room concerned for any help required. There is also a system by which a nurse from the clinic calls on the intercom every morning residents who are living alone to check if he or she is ok. The maintenance charges levied by the management also include daily cleaning of every apartment by  maids and deep cleaning every two months.

In addition to all the above facilities which are included in the maintenance charges levied by the management , there is also a system of allowing  authorised vendors who sell fruits,  snacks, and other items required by the residents in special stalls put up in the basement of one of the blocks.  Identified suppliers of milk, flowers, grocery , vegetables, newspapers and laundry service etc. are allowed access to the apartments. Many residents cook their own meals in their apartments or order from outside caterers.  Swiggy & Zomato and other food service providers are allowed only up to the gate near the security. Residents have to pick up their orders from the security area.

Only vegetarian food is served. The menu, which caters to the taste of Tamil/Malayalam Brahmins who constitute 90% of the residents. Every day the management circulates the menu for the following day. If a regular diner doesn`t like the menu he/she cooks at home or orders from outside.

The management recently launched a special `Ananya App` of the group which helps residents get a daily update on the various activities being held in the campus besides an Alert icon which if pressed in an emergency brings  the security/medical staff to your room within minutes. You can also settle all your bills through the App.

My cost for  renting a two bedroom apartment, leased for 11 months, comes to Rs.40,000 pm which includes, rent , maintenance and food consisting of three meals, coffee in the morning and afternoon. Electricity bill is extra at actual depending on consumption.

On the whole Phase 4 is a well designed property with all the facilities required for senior citizens to lead a safe life without responsibilities. There are enough activities to keep the residents busy within the community.

Those interested in knowing more about the group and the details about the other existing phases and  new ventures can visit the website `Ananaya`s  Nana Nani Homes`.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Eric Miller – the man behind the Chennai Storytelling Festival

The Chennai Storytelling Festival 2024, held in February this year, was an enormous success! It attracted more than 100 storytellers, and hundreds more storytelling aficionados, from around the globe. The event, which occurred fully via videoconferencing, was masterminded by an American settled in Chennai. Yes, I am talking about Dr. Eric Miller who is a big name in the world of storytelling. A man who is responsible for training hundreds of storytellers in India.

Dr. Eric Miller is a native New Yorker and earned a Ph.D. in Folklore from the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia). He has taught college courses in Folklore, Expository Writing, Creative Writing, Analysing Literature, Public Speaking, and Storytelling at St. John’s University, Fordham University, and New York University (all in NYC). In Chennai, he has taught at IIT-Madras; the Image College of Animation, Arts, and Technology; and the University of Madras (Dept of Communication and Journalism). In 2007 Eric co-founded the World Storytelling Institute, which he directs. He also directs the annual Chennai Storytelling Festival, which began in 2013.

When I asked Dr. Eric what made him choose storytelling as a profession, he replied,

“Since my father was a playwright and a theatre critic, I used to visit the theatre often. I naturally became fascinated with drama and as a teenager wrote several plays. Then at the age of 17 years, I met Laura Simms, who was a Professional Storyteller. I learned about Professional Storytelling from her. Storytelling appeared easier than theatre! Storytelling seemed to me to be a kind of theatre in which one could be all-in-one – playwright, director, and actor – and there was no need for a stage, sets, a full cast of actors, costumes, and makeup. I also liked the crystalline structure of fairytales, as I learned about them from Laura Simms.”

Why India and why Chennai?

“Both my parents were in the fields of the Arts, and Arts Journalism (my mother was the editor-in-chief of a national magazine about dance when I was growing up). As a result, in my late teens, I decided to study story and the performing arts in an ancient culture. My options came down to Ireland or India. I chose India as it was further away and not as modernized. I also chose India as I was interested in Goddess Culture, not as religion, but as culture and as models for behavior. A Professor of religion at the College I was attending handed me an English translation of the Silappathikaram (the Epic of the Ankle Bracelet), written by Prince Ilango Adigal. This version of the story is linguistically dated to have been written in Tamil 1500 years ago. I read the story and liked it very much. The content of the story – one woman who would go to a King and present her case and the King would listen to her – amazed me!

I first came to India in 1988, to do research for my Master’s degree. At that time I went to Poompuhar, the place Kannagi grew up, and walked the same path as Kannagi, from Poompuhar to Madurai, around 200km, and then later from Madurai to the mountains, another 200km. I authored a book about the walk and gave the first copy to M. Karunanidhi, the 5-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. I came back to India in 2002 to do research with Tribal people in the Anaimalai mountains for my Ph.D. in Folklore from the University of Pennsylvania. After that, I decided to settle in Chennai.”

Dr. Eric was lucky to find his spouse Magdalene in Chennai. Magdalene is a Therapist specialising in using Drama and the other Arts for Therapy. Eric and Magdalene were married in 2006 and have a daughter Kamala, who is now 17 years old. Along with Magdalene and Storyteller Jeeva Raghunath, he started the World Storytelling Institute in 2007. He started offering Storytelling Workshops from then on.  Today there are 58 registered Professional Storytellers in Chennai, many of whom have studied with Dr. Eric.

Apart from Chennai, Dr. Eric has helped to start Storytelling Associations in Trichy, Madurai, Coimbatore, Salem, and Ahmedabad. 

In 2011, he and Geeta Ramanujam (the senior leader of the Storytelling Revival in India) started the Indian Storytelling Network. Dr. Eric assists the 130 members of the ISN in editing and updating their ISN listings (which include their bio-data and descriptions of storytelling-related services they offer to the public).

Dr. Eric says, “Storytelling is not just a performance. It is also a secular ritual in which people get in touch with themselves, others, and the Universe. I conduct workshops in telling stories such as folktales, fairytales (one kind of folktale), epics, legends, and myths – as well as personal-experience stories, and stories that I help people create.  As I see it, role play is an important part of storytelling. By speaking and moving as a character would, and addressing listeners as if they were other characters in the story, the storyteller enlists the audience to participate in the story. I believe storytellers should not overact.  They should be gentle, invite the listeners in, and activate their imaginations. The style I work with is conversational. We don’t memorize, we make eye contact at times, and we tell from our imagination.  It is a visual experience – the teller and the listener can visualise a story as it is being told. This way a storyteller can bring a story to life”.

Based on a suggestion from a Chennai-based storyteller Sandhya Ruben, who had attended a storytelling festival in Singapore, he started the Chennai Storytelling Festival in 2013. He was familiar with Storytelling Festivals, having assisted Laura Simms organize them in NYC.  From the start, the Chennai Storytelling Festival was positioned as a Teaching and Learning Storytelling Festival. For the first 8 years, the CSF occurred almost in person.

Dr. Eric has been fascinated with and has been an enthusiastic user of, videoconferencing since the mid-1990s. Since around that time, his website has been www.storytellingandvideoconferencing.com. When the pandemic hit in March 2020, he was ready to shift all his storytelling activities into videoconferencing mode. Post the pandemic, CSF sessions have included a few hybrid sessions, with a mix of live and online participants.

Videoconferencing has allowed storytellers from around the globe, along with storytellers throughout India, to participate in the CSF. There are participants from Russia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and beyond who are interested in sharing and learning storytelling best practices. All sessions in the editions of CSF from 2021 to 2024 have been free of charge!

The theme for Chennai Storytelling Festival 2024 was Growing and Maturing through Storytelling and will include Transforming in CSF 2025. On the recommendation of several members of the Chennai Storytellers group (of which Dr. Eric is also a member), CSF 2024 had a few sessions of storytelling by and for children. Dr. Eric says this was a new and wonderful experience! CSF 2024 also included a discussion session on ways the Dravidian Movement has used stories to communicate its messages, especially through drama, modified folk art forms, movies, novels, and short stories.

Sudha Umashanker, a journalist, author, storytelling student of Dr. Eric, and an active participant in all of the editions of the Chennai Storytelling Festival, curates a Tamil storytelling event as one of the regional language storytelling events that occurs in the CSF. On Sunday 11th February 2024 her storytelling outfit, Storycorner at Bookmine, hosted the eighth edition of "Tamizhil Kathaigal Ketpom" ("Let's Listen to Stories in Tamizh"), via Zoom. This popular event has a faithful following of young and old. Eleven Storytellers presented a wide range of stories in a variety of styles in "Tamizhil Kathaigal Ketpom" in CSF 2024.

Commenting on CSF 2024 Sudha says, “Big names such as Laura Simms, mentor of Dr. Eric Miller, delighted participants with workshops and performances. Chennai Storytellers Pretigaya Haran of Story Sack, and Sheetal Rayathatha of Square Heads, doubled as hosts of the Festival's 12 two-hour Storytelling Sessions. Hundreds of man-hours spent on emails, short-listing workshop leaders, curating events, and drawing up schedules for 4 different time zones –a facet that was well-appreciated – culminated in a memorable Festival. Takeaways included great networking from right where you are, lots of new ideas and new stories to discover, and exposure to a variety of narrative styles ­– this and much more was what Chennai Storytelling Festival 2024 was all about”.

 When I asked Dr. Eric about his future plans apart from curating the CSF, he mentioned several things. He said he will continue to give training in Storytelling, Creative Writing, and Storytelling Therapy, a field he has helped to pioneer (he earned a Master's degree in Psychology from the University of Madras in 2018). He will also continue to host the "First Monday of the Month" sessions of storytelling by and for adults (May to January) which are also free to participate in and observe (via Zoom). There are more than 200 video recordings of storytelling in this series uploaded on YouTube. He is also the Dean of Rojavanam International School in Nagercoil and visits there for some days each month.

Dr. Eric has scripted a fictional movie with singing and dancing entitled “Words From the Forest”, which is about a group of high school students from New York City who come to visit some Tribal people in Tamil Nadu's Anaimalai Mountains. He says this story takes up where the story of Kannagi leaves off, and he hopes “Words From the Forest” will soon be brought to the silver screen.

Let us wish Dr. Eric success in this ambitious project. He can be contacted at eric@storytellinginstitute.org

This story has appeared in the Madras musings issue dated March 15-31 March 24

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An update on my life at Nana Nani

It has been a month since I moved into Nana Nani (Phase -4) a senior citizen's home in Coimbatore. Many of my friends want to know if I have settled down and if the place meets my expectations. I am more than satisfied with the place and the various services that the Home offers. I am staying in a two-bedroom apartment in one of the six blocks of apartments on the second floor. I was lucky to get a furnished flat including a fridge and washing machine. Even the curtains, bed covers and a few things required for the kitchen like the Induction stove, some utensils, and other essential items were provided by my daughter Sowmya, who is settled in Coimbatore. I must thank her and my son-in-law Sathya, for their help in setting up my new home.

Within a week I got close to a few residents some of whom I knew earlier. A good Samaritan among the new friends gave me his spare Smart T-V at a concessional rate. Another friend not only gave me his set-top box free but offered his car, which was lying idle most of the time, for my use when required. I am overwhelmed by the love and affection shown by many friends here. I don`t feel like a stranger at all. The weather in Coimbatore is so far good. I am comfortable under the fan. Though it is hot in the afternoons, one does not sweat like a pig as you do in Chennai.

My daily routine starts at 4.30 am. After the morning ablutions, I am at my workstation at 5.00 am. pounding on my laptop whatever I have planned for the day. I do my Chair Yoga between 6.30 & 7.15 am. It is followed by a 30-minute walk within the beautiful campus during which I exchange greetings with other walkers. There is no post-walk group meetings like in Chennai. That happens only after each meal session outside the dining hall. Though I am enjoying the walk here, I do miss the walk on the Bessy in Chennai, seeing the sunrise every morning. Needless to say, I also miss the fun time I used to have with friends in the Elliot group or the Elite group , having customized degree coffee served by Velu which would charge my battery for the day!

After the walk I spend 10 minutes reading the morning newspaper in the lobby of the dining hall and then proceed for the breakfast in the first batch starting at 8.00am. I return to my room and have my bath followed by Pooja rituals. I then relax with a book or try to get back to my laptop to continue with whatever I was writing in the morning.

It is now time for lunch. I attend the second batch at 1.00pm. The menu is typically Tam-Brahm fare. I like it. Post lunch I have a siesta for an hour followed by some more reading. Once or twice a week there is a programme arranged at the meditation hall starting at 5.00pm. Every Saturday at 4.30pm there is a Hindi, Tamil or Malayalam movie shown at the state of the art air conditioned film theatre in the complex. I have seen five films so far. I have also been visiting the Shirdi Sai Baba temple in Saibaba colony, every Thursday evening .On days when there are no preplanned activities in the evening, I join a group of residents who assemble in the basement of the adjacent block for a gossip session which lasts till dinner time at 7.30pm. My group, consists of a retired Air Vice Marshal, who is in his nineties, ex bureaucrats and corporate honchos who are in their seventies and eighties. The discussions are more serious than fun. Post dinner I watch the TV for an hour. It is 9.00pm and time for me to call it a day, as I am a strong believer in the `early to bed and early to rise` policy.

I now know the meaning of a life without any responsibilities in a Home away from Home! Am I enjoying it? Well, I am getting used to the idea but apart from reading & writing I am yet to find activities to keep me busy during the day. Is going spiritual an answer? I must find out.

More details about the facilities available in Phase IV in my next posting.

Yoga at 82

 I have always envied people who have been practicing yoga from a young age to keep themselves fit as a fiddle. Though I had attempted practicing yoga many times before, I had to give up unable to withstand the rigorous training. I found my protruding Madhya Pradesh (generous tummy), considered a sign of prosperity by many, was coming in the way of performing many difficult Asanas.  I remember, as a young boy, when I was thin as a stick, I used to perform Sirasasana inspired by the photo of the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru performing this difficult Asana even in his old age. Of course, I was doing it more as a fun activity then, than as a part of any regular Yoga programme.

After coming to CBE I started attending Chair Yoga sessions arranged by the management of Nana Nani Senior Citizens Home where I am staying now.  It is meant for people like me who need a helping hand to get up if they sit or lie  on the floor or after prostrating before their favourite deities in the temples.

Why yoga at this age?

I was influenced by the experiences of some friends. I recently attended a get-together organized by a good friend in CBE, where he demonstrated his proficiency in performing yogic Asanas.  He had learned it in the last three years from a yogic trainer, five days a week at his home. He is only two weeks older than me. I was amazed at the way he was twisting and turning, performing difficult Asanas with ease. A guy who was suffering from acute depression a  few years ago is now bubbling with energy and enthusiasm. What the deadly medicines he was taking for depression could not do, yoga has done it for him.

A couple of other inmates at the Senior Citizen Home who have been attending the Chair Yoga sessions for a few months told me they were never able to sit or lie down on the floor earlier. Now they can do the same with ease. Some of them have even switched over to regular mat (floor)yoga classes for young and old conducted by the Home, free of charge.

This time I am serious as I have plenty of time and inclination. I find the Chair Yoga not difficult to perform as it is specially designed for seniors. There are about 25 seniors who are in their 70s and 80s attending the session for three days a week. Rest of the week I practice yoga looking at the video of the 45-minute programme available to all the participants.  The young trainer demonstrates each asana in such a way that anyone can follow easily.

 It is three weeks since I started attending the programme. Has it had any effect? Yes indeed! For the last 20 years when I go for my morning walks, the pain in the hip & thigh joints on both sides would make me stop for about 30 seconds before I continue with the walk. I would stop at least four or five times during my 30-minute walk.  Now I find that I can complete my walk with just one or two stops. The yoga teacher told me that this is because yoga has helped to relax my muscles.  I am excited. I am determined to continue the classes with the hope that someday I will be able to walk long distances without breaks, also be able to prostrate before my favourite deities in the temples or sit cross-legged on the floor while performing some rituals which necessitate sitting on the floor. It is better late than never. Om Sairam!